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October 2000, Week 4

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From:
LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 23 Oct 2000 10:46:02 EDT
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--- Forwarded Message from "Mary Ohno" <[log in to unmask]> ---

>From: "Mary Ohno" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: #5661.13 Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize lea rning (!)
>Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 13:16:22 GMT

------------------
Sounds great. Is it a stand-alone program? Would this work with something 
like Hot Potatoes? Do you have contact info such as a web site url or email 
for whoever created/provides it? Thanks.

--Mary Ohno

[log in to unmask]

--Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School

>From: LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum  
>             <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: #5661.13  Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize     
>          lea     rning (!)
>Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 08:34:44 EDT
>
>--- Forwarded Message from "Timothy Pope" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >From: "Timothy Pope" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: "Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum"    
>                      <[log in to unmask]>
> >References: <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Re: #5661.12  Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize 
>lea     rning (!)
> >Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 07:25:20 -0600
>
>------------------
>Christopher,
>You should know that Webgen 2000 (which is free of charge) offers tracking
>of all practice  sessions (like your "Tutorial and practice") by student,
>exercises attempted and scores, and full reporting and session logging in
>exam mode. It grades all exercises other than free composition, permitting
>partial marks (in both modes) and offering detailed error analysis (in
>tutorial mode). Webgen also contains substantial bilingual dictionaries for
>French, German and Spanish (for these there is a nominal charge) and it 
>runs
>under PC and MAC browsers either on-line or from the local hard drive. For
>German, grammar parsing of natural language is under development, as is a
>platform-independent exercise-generating program that avoids the need to
>remember Webgen-specific tags.
>Sincerely,
>Timothy F. Pope
>The University of Lethbridge
>----- Original Message -----
>From: LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 6:12 AM
>Subject: Re: #5661.12 Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize lea
>rning (!)
>
>
>--- Forwarded Message from "Christopher M. Jones"
><[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 12:27:40 -0400
> >From: "Christopher M. Jones" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: "Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum"
><[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Re: #5661.11  Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize
>lea rning (!)
>
>------------------
>Peggy:
>
>Our Language Online project is divided into two components, essentially. 
>One
>is a site built with html and JavaScript which we call "tutorial and
>practice" and which is not tracked. The other is WebCT, which we use for 
>all
>administration, communication, online testing and so forth.
>
>The methods I am aware of for tracking user behavior in a Web environment
>are cookies, CGI scripting, and Java, none of which apply to your current
>situation of having a bank of Makers exercises. Retrofitting Makers or Hot
>Potatoes or other JavaScript exercises in some fashion will in all
>likelihood not be possible, though I would love to discover otherwise...
>
>The only method feasible for most language professionals that I am aware of
>(without substantial programming investment) is to use the WebCT 
>environment
>as an authoring system. The quiz function in WebCT is capable  of
>integrating media, tracking and recording student response, by-item 
>analysis
>of test results, etc etc. WebCT used to be cheap... Blackboard never was,
>and is less language-friendly, but those are the real options.
>
>Our intention eventually is to use the WebCT quizzes as "gateway" events,
>which then would return the unsuccessful students to the tutorial and
>practice modules for further (untracked) practice. Whether we will ever 
>have
>all student interaction tracked is an open question at this point.
>
>Hope this helps,
>
>-Chris
>
>
>--On Thu, Oct 12, 2000 8:48 AM +0000 LLTI-Editor 
><[log in to unmask]>
>wrote:
>
> > --- Forwarded Message from "Buckwalter, Peggy" 
><[log in to unmask]>
>---
> >
> >>From: "Buckwalter, Peggy" <[log in to unmask]>
> >>To: "'Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum'"
>   <[log in to unmask]>
> >>Subject: RE: #5661.9  Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize 
>lea
>rning
> >>Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 13:09:40 -0600
> >
> > ------------------
> > Hello to everyone.  I have a question for Chris Jones regarding your
> > language online at CMU or anyone else who might be able to help me.  I 
>am
> > wondering about the technology you use for monitoring student work and
> > progress.  I use interactive exercises with audio and video made using 
>the
> > Exercises Makers created and generously made available to all of us by 
>the
> > Tricollege Mellon Language Project in Philadelphia.  I house them on
>WebCT,
> > which works fine except that it provides very limited tracking for my
> > purposes.  (I am a one-person department trying to find ways of giving 
>my
> > students as much exposure to the Spanish language as possible-we are in
> > South Dakota-and at the same time trying to rid my life and theirs of 
>the
> > dreaded workbook.) Is there a program that would track my students' work
>(in
> > a similarly sophisticated way that a digital lab like the CAN8 can do)?
>Any
> > suggestions from anyone will be gratefully received.  (WE use an NT
>server)
> > Thank you,
> > Peggy
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: LLTI-Editor [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: 31 August 2000 13:40
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: #5661.9 Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize
> > learning
> >
> >
> > --- Forwarded Message from Christopher Jones <[log in to unmask]> ---
> >
> >>Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 12:39:00 -0400
> >>From: Christopher Jones <[log in to unmask]>
> >>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
> > <[log in to unmask]>
> >>Subject: Re: #5661.1 Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize
> > learning
> >>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >>Originator-Info:
> > login-token=Mulberry:01ojPBQgWdMLDZsRC57bM4sfWQOG4onk7Qli63oqM0yw==;
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > ------------------
> > Samantha, Rachel:
> >
> > You could browse through the description of our Language Online project 
>at
>
> >
> > http://mlonline.hss.cmu.edu
> >
> > We quite explicitly do NOT claim to be saving any money at this point, 
>but
> > the change in the structure of the learning environment is substantial,
>and
> > successful so far.
> >
> > -Chris
> >
> > --On Tue, Aug 29, 2000 8:40 +0000 LLTI-Editor 
><[log in to unmask]>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> --- Forwarded Message from Samantha Earp <[log in to unmask]> ---
> >>
> >>> Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 10:45:45 -0700 (PDT)
> >>> From: Samantha Earp <[log in to unmask]>
> >>> Subject: Re: #5661Using technology to save $$ and to revolutionize
> >>> learning To: Language Learning and Technology International 
>Information
> >>> Forum    <[log in to unmask]>
> >>
> >> ------------------
> >> I've kicked around an idea for years to have students
> >> move through language instruction at their own page,
> >> supported by lots of technology work and smaller,
> >> lab-like (or travaux pratiques sessions, for you
> >> French-speakers) sessions with teachers.  They would
> >> move through based on mastery, and all the materials
> >> would help move them in this direction.
> >>
> >> (A former colleague and I at a previous institution
> >> briefly considered putting on a small pilot project
> >> sequence in German in this way, but the institutional
> >> barriers and resistance from other colleagues shot us
> >> down in a big way, very fast.)
> >>
> >> Writing this very basic description in this way
> >> glosses over a whole lot of learning & SLA theory that
> >> would need to be examined carefully, not to mention
> >> the logistics of organization and extremely careful
> >> instructional design that takes into account the
> >> unique technology-enhanced learning environment
> >> (rather than tacking technology onto a pre-existing
> >> pedagogical structure).  But I'm still very interested
> >> in this idea, and along with Rachel would love to hear
> >> more about any forays into this area...
> >>
> >> Best,
> >> Samantha Earp
> >> Duke University
> >>
> >>
> >> --- LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >>> --- Forwarded Message from Rachel Saury
> >>> <[log in to unmask]> ---
> >>>
> >>> > Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:00:01 -0400
> >>> > To: Language Learning and Technology International
> >>> Information Forum    <[log in to unmask]>
> >>> > From: Rachel Saury <[log in to unmask]>
> >>> > Subject: Using technology to save $$ and to
> >>> revolutionize learning
> >>> > In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >>>
> >>> ------------------
> >>> Dear colleagues and friends,
> >>>
> >>> I have an interesting nut for everyone to chew on.
> >>> It is a commonly
> >>> expressed view in our field that the new digital
> >>> technologies are primarily
> >>> being used within a curricular model that differs
> >>> little from when we
> >>> relied on analog technologies.  This manifests as
> >>> students primarily
> >>> listening to digitized audiotapes and video with
> >>> some recording of their
> >>> responses.  If the digital technologies are being
> >>> used in innovative ways,
> >>> it is still within the traditional classroom
> >>> structure: students meeting in
> >>> class 3-5 hours/week (depending upon the level) with
> >>> a single instructor
> >>> with homework assignments, both written and oral, to
> >>> be done at home and in
> >>> the lab.  It is interesting to note that the report
> >>> from the Mellon
> >>> Foundation in 1998 after years of funding foreign
> >>> language instructional
> >>> technology projects, came to the conclusion that
> >>> making the leap into using
> >>> the technology in ways that could truly cut costs is
> >>> challenging.
> >>>
> >>> I have been intrigued by Virginia Tech's Math
> >>> Emporium model.  About four
> >>> years ago, VA Tech decided that they needed a more
> >>> cost-effective way to
> >>> deliver basic math instruction.  They dismantled the
> >>> traditional structure
> >>> of the class, with students meeting in large lecture
> >>> halls with a single
> >>> instructor--usually a TA under the supervision of a
> >>> full-time faculty
> >>> member.  They purchased an old Rose's building
> >>> (Rose's is a southern
> >>> version of K-Mart), installed a few hundred
> >>> computers in various
> >>> configurations and groupings to allow for
> >>> individual, paired and group
> >>> work, created learning modules, and restructured the
> >>> commitment of faculty
> >>> and TA time.  Students primarily did their work
> >>> using the computer-based
> >>> learning modules.  They had paired and group
> >>> projects and could also choose
> >>> to go to lectures on various areas of mathematics,
> >>> if they felt they needed
> >>> extra help.  Faculty members and TAs held their
> >>> "office hours" in the lab
> >>> and were available to tutor students.  Small group
> >>> sessions with
> >>> instructors were also scheduled for group discussion
> >>> and questions.
> >>>
> >>> Here at UVA, the Spanish Dept. is facing a crisis:
> >>> enrollments in first
> >>> year Spanish are up, with the result that each class
> >>> has 30 students with
> >>> one instructor.  There is no end in sight in terms
> >>> of enrollment, but
> >>> funding for more TAs is not keeping up with demand.
> >>> I have been
> >>> considering whether the Math Emporium model could be
> >>> applied creatively to
> >>> foreign languages in such a way that students could
> >>> actually get more
> >>> one-on-one tutoring, more opportunities for
> >>> communication with an
> >>> instructor and with other students, and more
> >>> drilling and rote pratice to
> >>> reinforce grammatical forms and vocabulary.  In the
> >>> end, I don't think what
> >>> students would learn in terms of quantity or quality
> >>> would be
> >>> sacrificed.  But I do think that learning could be
> >>> more dynamic, with
> >>> students being exposed to more varied communicative
> >>> contexts and
> >>> opportunities than in the current structure.
> >>>
> >>> I would be interested in your ideas and thoughts.
> >>> Are there any programs
> >>> out there right now that are trying this out?  Do
> >>> you think this could
> >>> work?  If so, how?  Can you refer me to any sources?
> >>>
> >>> Thanks!
> >>>
> >>> Rachel Saury
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Rachel E. Saury, Ph.D.
> >>> Director, Arts & Sciences Center for Instructional
> >>> Technologies
> >>> P.O. Box 400784
> >>> University of Virginia
> >>> Charlottesville, VA 22904-4784
> >>> (804) 924-6847 ph.
> >>> (804) 924-6875 fax
> >>> www.people.virginia.edu/~res4n
> >>
> >>
> >> __________________________________________________
> >> Do You Yahoo!?
> >> Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere!
> >> http://mail.yahoo.com/
> >
> >
> >
> > Christopher M. Jones, PhD
> > Principal Lecturer in French / Director, Language Learning Resource 
>Center
> > mail: Baker Hall 160, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> > tel: 412-268-8087  fax: 412-268-1328  e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>Christopher M. Jones, PhD
>Principal Lecturer in French / Director, Language Learning Resource Center
>mail: Baker Hall 160, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
>tel: 412-268-8087  fax: 412-268-1328  e-mail: [log in to unmask]

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